


A Stab At Magic

by ItWasAPuzzle



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Magic!Chara, Post-Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 20:38:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6486628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItWasAPuzzle/pseuds/ItWasAPuzzle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a month of trying, and failing, to summon their magic, Chara starts to doubt themself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Stab At Magic

_“Remember,_ you’re _the one who tells the magic what to do, you_ have _to stay in control,” Undyne says; punctuating each word with a loud_ ping _as a new spear was summoned and struck another can. Each can clattering off into the waist high grass surrounding the shelf a dozen feet away.  
  
The small child before her nodded, their expression serious and their eyes seeming to burn with determination. They’d been out there for an hour already, with the child trying and failing to mimic what their guardian had just done _ effortlessly. _  
  
They turned to the next set of cans, each one glinting peacefully in the soft sunlight as they pointed towards them, hand forming a finger gun as a focal point. The logos of various soda companies seeming to mock them as they once again tried to summon their magic.  
  
_ The next day, the same child stood before a mirror, three candles flickering around them filling their room with the smell of various flowers. Their breathing sounding only slightly strained as their chest rose and fell in the slow pattern their other guardian told them would help. Admittedly, the candles had also been her suggestion, and the very loose clothing, but by this point, they were combining various techniques out of desperation.   
  
It had been a month since they _accidentally_ terrified several kids and sent a couple to hospital with minor burns and cuts. Also with a lot less hair, but that was just an added bonus. Well, a bonus to _them,_ pretty much everyone else had told them that they shouldn’t take pride in attacking humans, even if they _asked_ for it by attacking them and Frisk.  
  
But each and every passing day had brought more and more failures, and with every failure brought more and more frustration. They were struggling to even summon their magic, let alone control it enough to _move._ Frisk had shown magic tendencies a week _after_ they had and already they were controlling it much better than their friend. Doing small tricks that Toriel would shower them with praise and tell them that she was _so proud_ of them, then when she saw them she’d say that they’d get the hang of it soon enough, if they just kept at it.  
  
They just wanted their moms to sing their praise to when they showed them for something magic-y, or at least be proud of them. Their reassurances that they _were_ proud of them would ring hollowly through their head for days before they’d once again get frustrated at themself and would binge anime for several hours. Their parents would soon enough join them on the sofa, Alphys with a bottle of soda and Undyne with cups of golden flower tea.  
  
They never said anything; they’d just keep them company and wait for them to be ready. Never rushing them, but letting them know they were there when they were ready to talk.   
  
Their fingers twitched slightly, feeling _something_ in the air around them, something warm but at the same time cold. Something shapeless but also had a shape; this is the part that they _always_ messed up at, giving the stuff shape. They didn’t even know what the stuff was except “magic stuff”, not even Alphys had given them a better idea of what it was.  
  
Not that they’d let a simple thing like _not knowing_ deter them, normally it wouldn’t deter them anyway but maybe… No, they had to stay on track and focus. They slowly waved their left hand in a vague circle, willing the stuff to take shape and weave it around their fingers. After several seconds they flicked their hand forwards, snapping their fingers as they formed the frustratingly familiar finger gun.  
  
There was a brief flicker of light, but once again there was nothing floating before their hand. Once again, they’d failed to summon anything that didn’t immediately blink out of existence.  
  
They let out a small, humourless laugh. Of course, they wouldn’t be Chara if they could do something right, they’d be _Frisk_ if they got something right. Despite their thoughts they put they stretched their arms out to their sides and went back to trying to grip the Magic Stuff as they stared at their reflection.  
  
Physically, they hadn’t changed much from when their body had been remade with magic, they had grown slightly and their hair was a little longer. They even looked a little healthier, due in part to the training regime they did with Undyne, also partly to the medication that they had to take every morning and night.  
  
Of course, there were several things different about the body they were given compared to their older body, some of which were a lot more noticeable after four years of growth. Such as the horns that could no longer be hidden amongst their hair; small, white and slowly curving forwards. There were also their new fangs, which they definitely approved of because it made their grins a more threatening edge.   
  
The horns though, they could do without the horns, they made proper hair care a pain.  
  
Once again, their hand snapped forward, finger gun at the ready. Once again, there was no sign of magic outside the brief flicker of light.   
  
Chara almost sighed as they clenched their fist, their short claws biting into the palm of their hand. The slight sting grounded them slightly, letting their frustration leak out through the small areas of pressure. When they finally uncurled their fist as they _once again_ raised their arms, not immediately noticing the small flicker of light that hung where their fist had been.  
  
When they finally noticed, they froze. Before them was a small, floating… Knife? No, that couldn’t be right, the way the thing flickered made it seem a lot more like fire, but it was definitely _shaped_ like a knife. No matter what it was though, it was _something,_ it was _magic_ and _they had made it themself!_ They couldn’t help the growing smile as they cupped the small wisp of magic between their hands.  
  
The size almost scared them, it was so _small_ and the way it shivered seemed as nervous as they felt. But at the same time, it seemed to be growing brighter and more solid, forming a much more structured and familiar form that was so incredibly familiar to the child. Even though the surface still seemed to shiver but it was without a doubt an exact copy of their old, gardening knife, an incredibly scaled down version of their old tool but still a copy of it.   
  
They could even see the slight nicks in the handle that they used to pick at.  
  
With a careful reverie, they took each end in a gentle grip and pulled, their adoptive mom’s words echoing through their mind. _When you first summon something it’s probably gonna be small, so feel free to_ stretch _it to a proper size! You’ve already made it so it’s not going to snap over a bit of pulling!_ Despite these reassurances, they were amazed when it didn’t just poof out of existence but actually grew, stretching out effortlessly until it was slightly longer than their old knife.  
  
There was one big difference between this knife and their old knife, one very easily spotted difference now that it was a more appropriate size. Their former tool had been made of metal with a wooden handle, this one, apart from being made of magic, was also made of fire.  
  
Relinquishing their grip on each end, anticipating it to poof as soon as they let go, but still it hung in the air before them. The blade pointing towards them, which was a definite ‘no-no’, so experimentally, they rolled their left hand, watching as the knife slowly spun. It didn’t spin in the way Chara had _hoped_ it would, but the fact they had any control of it at all amazed them.  
  
So, determined to turn the knife away from themself, the slowly waved their wrist backwards, watching as it _slowly_ turned away from them before coming to a stop, pointing towards their reflection. Experimentally, they tried flicking their wrist upwards and once again it copied their movements, now pointing towards the white ceiling of Chara’s bedroom. The various stickers plastered up there reflecting the red light from the fiery knife.  
  
They continued experimenting with various wrist movements, each one copied by the small blade and with every success, Chara’s grin grew wider and wider, their fingers started to twitch with excitement.  
  
It was after they made it do a loop de loop that they could no longer hide their excitement, running out of their bedroom (practically ripping the door of its hinges in their haste) dashing down the stairs shouting “Moms, moms!” The red knife floating along behind them, easily keeping pace with Chara as they burst into the living room exclaiming “Look what I can do!” Which was immediately followed by the all too familiar _smash_ of a window.  
  
When later questioned by a curious former monster king, Undyne simply stated “it had been asking for it,” wrapping an arm around Chara’s shoulders with a grin going from fin to fin.

**Author's Note:**

> This happened because I got a little too excited about Chara using magic, because I love Chara using magic. 
> 
> I also love Undyne and Alphys being Chara's parents, you can never take that away from me. So, Chara practicing magic with advice from both mum's and their different approaches to magic happened.
> 
> I also have a Tumblr, where I talk about my writing, reblog art and will answer questions/share headcanons with people. Feel free to shout at me there.


End file.
